Chapter 8: Take Backsies!

"So, thirty minutes to let them escape huh?" Asked Taru

"That's what they said," Responded Brick, dejected.

"And you're just gonna listen to them?"
"If we go out there now and they're there they might kill you, they said so."

"You think I'm scared of them? They just got lucky cause your Whismur wouldn't stop crying like a baby!"

"Hey, that's mean, take that back!" Brick said,"Whismur was trying his best," He pet his Whismur, trying to comfort it, before looking over to Taru, spraying a potion on his Poliwhirl's cut-open stomach. "And so were you! Don't think I don't notice your effort! Good teamwork too!"

"You can compliment us all you want, it doesn't change the fact we lost, and they made out with ALL THE STOLEN POKEMON IN OUR ENTIRE BASE! What are we supposed to do when the eggheads show up to run experiments with no test subjects?!"
"Uh, tell them what happened."

"And then what will they do?"

"Uh-I'm not sure," Brick said.

"What if they try to experiment on our pokemon as punishment? I don't know about you, but I won't let that happen!"

Brick looked concerned. "Allright, we gotta get those pokemon back before the boss stops by. But I can't go, I have orders to stay here, I'm the highest ranking member at this site and I'm the only one who can access part of the place."

"Allright, then who are you sending?"

"Well, you and uh…"Brick seemed nervous to tell him.
"Who?! Spit it out, man! We don't have time," Taru said.

"Levi."
"Levi?! Aw come on!" Taru said.

"I know you two don't get along well, but he's good at what he does and I think this is a good job for him."

"Allright, I'll go get him."


Levi was another member of Team Helix. He joined just before Taru, yet he had proven himself much more. Stealing hundreds of pokemon in large heists on pokemon centers, and taking out high-priority targets in the months since joining, all without blowing their cover in the big city, by using his Parasect to inflict poison and paralyze his enemies, leaving them helpless and winning the battle before it even began.

He, similar to Flint, dressed like a cowboy, with a Team Helix logo on the back of his leather vest. While they kept their crimes a secret in the big city, out here it was hard to keep a reputation from town to town either way. Unlike Flint, he had shaggy brown hair and stubble.

"You remembered to bring a gas mask, right?" Levi asked.

"Of course I did, Levi, what kind of moron do you take me for?" Replied Taru.

"I just wanted to make sure, sometimes grunts forget the kind of pokemon I use and don't prepare accordingly."

Taru was a bit offended at being referred to as a 'grunt', even if that was what he technically was. He was probably at least in the top 2% of Team Helix grunts in power and competence!

"What about your pokemon?" Levi asked.

"Will you shut it already? Muda can hold his breath for 30 minutes under water, I'm sure he can handle whatever spores you send out!"

Levi told Taru to stop a quarter mile from Crowlerville. It was the closest town so they knew it was a safe assumption to think that's where Looker was taking the pokemon. Levi used binoculars to view the town from a distance.
"Allright, so it looks like he's taking them to a building with a chimney. I'll sneak onto the roof and spore the building, then you rush in and grab the pokemon. Do not regroup with me, we'll meet back at the base when we get there. Best to split up. You got it?"

"Yeah, I do all the work while you hide and blast gas down a chimney."
"I don't need your mockery Taru, this is a serious mission. I've done this kind of thing before."
"Allright, allright. At least I can spend a couple days away from you, lord knows the travel over here was hell."


"Hello, sir, my name is Looker, I'm an international police officer."

"Oh," The mayor said,"Is there something wrong? What business could you possibly have here?"

"Oh, no worries," Said Looker,"There's nothing wrong happening in this town, it's just the closest one I could find. You see," He continued, putting a box of pokeballs on the mayor's desk,"I just conducted a sting on an organization who had stolen many pokemon. I need to continue my investigation to the west, and I was hoping you could hold these pokeballs until a retrieval crew could arri- sniff sniff do you smell something?"

Looker recognized that scent, it was similar to his Koffing's poison gas attack! Both he and the mayor keeled over hacking, barely able to breathe as the purple powder in the air mixed with a secondary yellow powder, not only could they hardly breathe, they could hardly move! 'They followed me!' Looker thought. He tried to reach into his trenchcoat for his pokemon when a Team Helix grunt in a gas mask, followed by a Poliwhirl. The swirl on the Poliwhirl's stomach didn't quite align right, like it was cut in the middle and haphazardly sewn back together.

The grunt silently walked over to the box of pokeballs as Looker and the Mayor could only watch in horror. The grunt picked up the box with both hands, but paused and turned towards Looker, as he forced himself, shakey-armed, to pull out a pokeball. But he didnt' have the power to just release his pokemon for battle!

The grunt put the box down, and yelled through the muffled mask,"Tmm mmtmk: rra rrmmf!" As his Poliwhirl stood in front of him and they both let out a barrage of super-strong punches, sending looker flying across the room and forcing his pokeball out of his hands. The grunt took the time to pick up Looker's pokeball, and mock him, before putting it in the box with the rest of the stolen pokemon, and leaving with them.

It took minutes for the spores in the air to dissipate and allow the two men to move, and by then, their assailants had already escaped!